At Kemp Little, we are known for our ability to serve the very particular needs of a large but diverse technology client base. Our hands-on industry know-how makes us a good fit with many of the world's biggest technology and digital media businesses, yet means we are equally relevant to companies with a technology bias, in sectors such as professional services, financial services, retail, travel and healthcare.

Kemp Little specialises in the technology and digital media sectors and provides a range of legal services that are crucial to fast-moving, innovative businesses.Our blend of sector awareness, technical excellence and responsiveness, means we are regularly ranked as a leading firm by directories such as Legal 500, Chambers and PLC Which Lawyer. Our practice areas cover a wide range of legal issues and advice.

Our Commercial Technology team has established itself as one of the strongest in the UK. We are ranked in Legal 500, Chambers & Partners and PLC Which Lawyer, with four of our partners recommended.

Our team provides practical and commercial advice founded on years of experience and technical know-how to technology and digital media companies that need to be alert to the rules and regulations of competition law.

Our Corporate Practice has a reputation for delivering sound legal advice, backed up with extensive industry experience and credentials, to get the best results from technology and digital media transactions.

In the fast-changing world of employment law our clients need practical, commercial and cost-effective advice. They get this from our team of employment law professionals.

Our team of leading IP advisors deliver cost-effective, strategic and commercial advice to ensure that your IP assets are protected and leveraged to add real value to your business.

Our litigation practice advises on all aspects of dispute resolution, with a particular focus on ownership, exploitation and infringement of intellectual property rights and commercial disputes in the technology sector.

We have an industry-leading reputation for our outsourcing expertise. Our professionals deliver credible legal advice to providers and acquirers of IT and business process outsourcing (BPO) services.

We work alongside companies, many with disruptive technologies, that seek funding, as well as with the venture capital firms, institutional investors and corporate ventures that want to invest in exciting business opportunities.

With a service that is commercial and responsive to our clients needs, you will find our tax advice easy to understand, cost-effective and geared towards maximising your tax benefits.

At Kemp Little, we advise clients in diverse sectors where technology is fundamental to the ongoing success of their businesses.They include companies that provide technology as a service and businesses where the use of technology is key to their business model, enabling them to bring their product or service to market.

We bring our commercial understanding of digital business models, our legal expertise and our reputation for delivering high quality, cost-effective services to this dynamic sector.

Acting for market leaders and market changers within the media industry, we combine in-depth knowledge of the structural technology that underpins content delivery and the impact of digitisation on the rights of producers and consumers.

We understand the risks facing this sector and work with our clients to conquer those challenges. Testimony to our success is the continued growth in our team of professionals and the clients we serve.

We advise at the forefront of the technological intersection between life sciences and healthcare. We advise leading technology and data analytics providers, healthcare institutions as well as manufacturers of medical devices, pharmaceuticals and biotechnological products.

For clients operating in the online sector, our teams are structured to meet their commercial, financing, M&A, competition and regulatory, employment and intellectual property legal needs.

Our focus on technology makes us especially well positioned to give advice on the legal aspects of digital marketing. We advise on high-profile, multi-channel, cross-border cases and on highly complex campaigns.

The mobile and telecoms sector is fast changing and hugely dependent on technology advances. We help mobile and wireless and fixed telecoms clients to tackle the legal challenges that this evolving sector presents.

Whether ERP, Linux or Windows; software or infrastructure as a service in the cloud, in a virtualised environment, or as a mobile or service-oriented architecture, we have the experience to resolve legal issues across the spectrum of commercial computer platforms.

Our clients trust us to apply our solutions and know-how to help them make the best use of technology in structuring deals, mitigating key risks to their businesses and in achieving their commercial objectives.

We have extensive experience of advising customers and suppliers in the retail sector on technology development, licensing and supply projects, and in advising on all aspects of procurement and online operations.

Our legal professionals work alongside social media providers and users in relation to the commercial, privacy, data, advertising, intellectual property, employment and corporate issues that arise in this dynamic sector.

Our years of working alongside diverse software clients have given us an in-depth understanding of the dynamics of the software marketplace, market practice and alternative negotiating strategies.

Working with direct providers of travel services, including aggregators, facilitators and suppliers of transport and technology, our team has developed a unique specialist knowledge of the sector

Your life as an entrepreneur is full of daily challenges as you seek to grow your business. One of the key strengths of our firm is that we understand these challenges.

Kemp Little is trusted by some of the worlds leading luxury brands and some of the most innovative e-commerce retailers changing the face of the industry.

HR Bytes is an exclusive, comprehensive, online service that will provide you with a wide range of practical, insightful and current employment law information. HR Bytes members get priority booking for events, key insight and a range of employment materials for free.

FlightDeck is our portal designed especially with start-up and emerging technology businesses in mind to help you get your business up and running in the right way. We provide a free pack of all the things no-one tells you and things they dont give away to get you started.

Internet of things

On 16 September 2014 the Article 29 Data Protection Working Party adopted Opinion 8/2014 on the Recent Developments on the Internet of Things.

The term ‘Internet of Things’ (IoT) is used to describe the connectivity of everyday objects – ‘smart things’, from smartphones to sensors in vehicles – within the infrastructure of the Internet. Although the IoT is still in a relatively formative stage, the rapidity with which smart objects have become integrated into our daily lives has raised some poignant questions about data privacy and security. The analysis by WP29 focused on three of the newest incarnations of the IoT: wearable computing, ‘quantified self’ gadgets (such as sleep monitors and fitness trackers) and home automation (domotics).

WP29 acknowledged the tensions between the tripartite requirements of a comprehensive, uniform data protection regime; the promotion of the European digital economy; and meeting the needs of consumers. Emphasising that the EU data protection legal framework is fully applicable to the processing of personal data through the IoT, WP identified the main risks and challenges that the IoT presents and provided some practical tips for stakeholders.

Particular topics of discussion were the vulnerability of devices, data loss and unauthorised use of data, infection by malware, unlawful surveillance and intrusive use of wearables. The overriding theme was of data subjects’ consent to data processing: there is a clear conflict at present between the expectation that devices will function in a seamless, unobtrusive way and the need to obtain the data subject’s clear, specific, free consent. The huge amount of data generated by the IoT, combined with modern methods of analytics, also increases the risk that individuals’ data is used in a manner entirely different to that which they contemplated, and interaction between devices (often without the users’ knowledge) makes it ever more difficult to control the flow of data, control its use and prevent ‘function creep’.

Likewise, it was also noted that some developments in the IoT (such as video glasses) pose additional threats as the data subject may not be aware that they are being photographed or recorded, and may have no control over how such data is processed, published or disseminated.

A recurring message throughout the Opinion was that manufacturers, developers and platforms which consider data privacy from the outset of their projects will be at a competitive advantage: not least because last minute ‘bolt-on’ data solutions can be costly and ineffective, but also because a robust approach to data privacy and security is rightly expected by European consumers.

We look forward to hearing how WP29’s suggestions are discussed at the International Conference of Data Protection and Privacy Commissioners which will be held in Mauritius next week.